Running an AP, have my players belatedly thinking it might have been best to keep an enemy alive. I feel that, considering 'enemy', if they try Raise Dead, the soul would say "no."
So, my question is this; are there any spells that forcibly revive a corpse? Even if it's just for a limited time.
Speak with Dead is the best method to interrogate a corpse. - Gauss
Revivification against One's Will: A soul can't be returned to life if it doesn't wish to be. A soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity (if any) of the character attempting to revive it and may refuse to return on that basis.
Yes, in chapter 9 it states that a soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity of the person bringing them back from the dead.
- Gauss
Edit: ninja'd
Speak with Dead is the best method to interrogate a corpse. - Gauss
Cept they can be cryptic... And haven't read on the rules of Speak with Dead, but couldn't they refuse to speak considering that some of them just don't have anything to lose at this point, considering their dead?
Your just asking the corpse for its memories the creatures soul and thus its ability to resist is gone.
If they are just needing the body for something, they could always go the Create Undead route (after a Mending to remove the physical damage and a Gentle Repose to keep it from decaying).
Why wouldn't it the part I quoted is from the genreal magic rules.
In fact if you read even reincarnate gives them the chance to say they want to stay dead.
With this spell, you bring back a dead creature in another body, provided that its death occurred no more than 1 week before the casting of the spell and the subject's soul is free and willing to return. If the subject's soul is not willing to return, the spell does not work; therefore, a subject that wants to return receives no saving throw.
Your just asking the corpse for its memories the creatures soul and thus its ability to resist is gone.
Speak with DeadSchool necromancy [language-dependent]; Level cleric 3
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, DF
Range 10 ft.
Target one dead creature
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates; see text; Spell Resistance no
You grant the semblance of life to a corpse, allowing it to answer questions. You may ask one question per two caster levels. The corpse's knowledge is limited to what it knew during life, including the languages it spoke. Answers are brief, cryptic, or repetitive, especially if the creature would have opposed you in life.
If the dead creature's alignment was different from yours, the corpse gets a Will save to resist the spell as if it were alive. If successful, the corpse can refuse to answer your questions or attempt to deceive you, using Bluff. The soul can only speak about what it knew in life. It cannot answer any questions that pertain to events that occurred after its death.
If the corpse has been subject to speak with dead within the past week, the new spell fails. You can cast this spell on a corpse that has been deceased for any amount of time, but the body must be mostly intact to be able to respond. A damaged corpse may be able to give partial answers or partially correct answers, but it must at least have a mouth in order to speak at all. This spell does not affect a corpse that has been turned into an undead creature.
It can resist. It even gets a will save is your alignment differs, which is true of most antagonists and PCs.
Huh color me suprised okay forget what I said.
blackbloodtroll, reincarnate does indeed give away your name, alignment, and patron deity. The rules are for anytime someone is brought back from the dead. Reincarnate qualifies for this.
- Gauss
Well, depends on the setting, but sometimes bad guys, when they die, get to become awesome evil outsiders. They may not want to give that up. In other settings, the afterlife is sort of like in early Greek myth: just a single place where everyone goes that is neither good nor bad. That might be preferable to whatever punishment lies in wait for a villain.
The rules regarding 'knowing the name, alignment, and patron deity of the person bringing you back from the dead' are not in the spells of raise dead, resurrect, true resurrect, or reincarnate. They are in the section on magic. Core Rulebook, Chapter 9, page208 under bringing back the dead.
- Gauss
Well, depends on the setting, but sometimes bad guys, when they die, get to become awesome evil outsiders. They may not want to give that up. In other settings, the afterlife is sort of like in early Greek myth: just a single place where everyone goes that is neither good nor bad. That might be preferable to whatever punishment lies in wait for a villain.
I doubt that a character that can still be raised usually gets anywhere but wait in line, if it is already turned into an outsider it wont be able to be raised most likely since it isn't actually 'dead' anymore.
Speak with dead with some cranked up saves might still be your best bet, though I am not sure it will fit the players purpose.
While expensive a Grave Candle is about the same price as a raise dead and is basically a juiced up Speak with Dead.
- Gauss
Well, depends on the setting, but sometimes bad guys, when they die, get to become awesome evil outsiders. They may not want to give that up. In other settings, the afterlife is sort of like in early Greek myth: just a single place where everyone goes that is neither good nor bad. That might be preferable to whatever punishment lies in wait for a villain.I doubt that a character that can still be raised usually gets anywhere but wait in line, if it is already turned into an outsider it wont be able to be raised most likely since it isn't actually 'dead' anymore.
Speak with dead with some cranked up saves might still be your best bet, though I am not sure it will fit the players purpose.
Well, I'm not saying that he's already been turned into an outsider, but becoming one might be a reason he's content to stay in line for a while.